NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

A new study has found higher concentrations of nectar from native New Zealand plant species in the drier eastern parts of the motu.

Flowers produced high-sugar nectar which fed birds and insects, and was also collected and processed to make honey.

Over two years, researchers measured nectar from more than 4200 flowers off eight native trees in a number of regions nationwide.

The “Nectar traits of New Zealand trees vary across climatic zones” study was published in Frontiers in Plant Science last month.

The plant species studied included karo (Pittosporum crassifolium), kōhūhū (Pittosporum tenuifolium), tarata (Pittosporum eugenioides), kōtukutuku (Fuchsia excorticata), pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and kōwhai (Sophora microphylla) and tī kōuka (cabbage tree).

The regions were Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay and Wellington in the North Island and Nelson/Tasman, Marlborough, Canterbury and Dunedin in the South.

Researchers found trees like kōwhai and pōhutakawa produced the highest concentrations of nectar in drier areas, while sunnier sites generally had lower nectar volumes though larger flowers.

Results from mānuka flowers showed substantial regional variation in nectar traits, driven by climate.

University of Waikato researcher Dr Johanna van Delden said the study could benefit conservationists and beekeepers, the latter to help them decide the most optimal locations and nearby trees for their beehives.

“The trees which produced the most sugar of all the species were either found in Dunedin, Canterbury or Hawke’s Bay, which are all on our East Coast,” she said.

“And the nectar volume, so how much nectar each flower produced, was also in 50 percent of the species coming from Dunedin or Hawke’s Bay. So I think that was the clearest and easiest result we could take out of our measurements.”

She said researchers were surprised by how the plants differed across climates.

“We found that every plant is really different. So we could see that some plant traits like nectar or the flower size was climate-linked, but it really varied from species to species between 20 and 80 percent, which is a massive variation.

“It was mostly associated with sunshine hours and rain amounts to really simplify the results.”

Van Delden said farmers could look at the species which performed well in their region to encourage greater biodiversity around farms.

“When they are flowering, attracting butterflies and birds, that could enhance your backyard biodiversity and could be used also on pastures for shelter.”

She said further research should explore how the native plants adapted to local climates across the country.

“If we go one step further, so the next researcher after me, could have a look if it’s actually not the location itself having the influence on the plant, but actually that it’s genetically driven.

“So that the plants over time have evolved in that way, that they are adapted to that local climate and therefore show those adaptations in regards to producing more sugar, for example, in the South Island and East Coast.”

Part of the research was funded by the government’s Endeavour research programme by the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment entitled, ‘Building Resilience and Provenance into an Authentic Māori Honey Industry’.

It was a joint project with the University of Waikato, Manaaki Whenua/Landcare Research and the Auckland University of Technology.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has purchased a new kiwifruit orchard in Bay of Plenty.

The investment was set to fund the work of its owner, the United States-based church known commonly as the Mormon Church.

Utah-based agricultural investor, Farmland Reserve acquired the Three Roads property near Edgecumbe, with local firm Craigmore Sustainables set to manage it.

The deal went through the Overseas Investment Office in August, resulting from a multi-year relationship between the two firms.

Profits from the export-focussed kiwifruit business will be shared between Craigmore and Farmland Reserve.

Farmland Reserve’s first NZ investment

Farmland Reserve was a commercial, for-profit entity where its profits help fund the church’s religious, humanitarian and charitable work.

Employing thousands globally, it invested in farms and orchards in 29 of 50 US states and 10 countries across the Americas, Europe and most recently Australasia.

Farmland it owned in Australia grew crops like pistachio nuts, potatoes, onions, wheat and soya bean.

President and chief executive, Doug Rose said kiwifruit consumption continued to rise globally, and New Zealand had ideal growing conditions for them.

“What an absolutely wonderful crop we have admired from a distance for some time,” he said.

“And I don’t know that there is a more beautiful country on the Earth than New Zealand with a more beautiful people and culture.”

Rose said it was Farmland Reserve’s first investment in New Zealand.

However, the church held hundreds of millions of dollars in assets like property across the country.

He said it was grateful to fill the need for capital in New Zealand, as a “passive and patient” long-term investor, with Craigmore taking the operational lead.

“I think this need that Craigmore brought to us is showing that there is a capital need in New Zealand to support this very growing industry, because it’s very, very expensive to develop even one hectare of kiwifruit is costly and so most entities can’t do it.

“So we were excited to be able to come in and to fill that need, particularly given I believe some of the destruction that occurred after that Cyclone [Gabrielle] and several years ago, and that really created kind of a capital gap.”

He said Farmland Reserve was not planning to set up as a charity in New Zealand.

Craigmore will manage the new orchard

Around half of the “partially-developed” 45-hectare property was planted in SunGold, and orchard manager Craigmore Sustainables planned to plant a further 17 hectares in the variety.

Chief executive, Che Charteris said it was essential to use offshore investment with partners that shared the same values, in face of limited domestic capital.

“So it will be in the end about 37.5 to 38 hectares of SunGold kiwifruit orchard under canopy with good frost protection, good irrigation and hopefully some very good crops for the year to come.”

Charteris said kiwifruit orchard development was expenditure-heavy and could cost anywhere between $200,000 – $800,000 a hectare.

He said Farmland Reserve understood the long term nature of the asset and the social community aspects that come with land ownership.

“Farmland Reserve are long term in their thinking, so it’s good to have that patient capital, that is willing to to rely on New Zealand expertise.

“It’s a really good example of how New Zealand can utilise the right kind of offshore capital in a way that values local expertise and local influence and control without, limiting ourselves just to domestic capital.”

Charteris said it could be hard to find money to re-invest in farms locally, and relying only on domestic capital would see growth opportunities missed.

“New Zealand unfortunately just has a really small pool of domestic capital.

“As you can see with the latest GDP figures in New Zealand, we’re not really going anywhere at the moment. But the rural sector is humming.

“The scale of the opportunity for rural New Zealand is so great that we need to find ways of working with the right kind of offshore capital to nail these sorts of opportunities.”

Charteris said Craigmore was set up to attract “better equity capital” into the country to harness opportunities, create jobs locally and boost regional economies.

Craigmore managed more than 38,000 hectares of farmland in horticulture, dairy farms and forestry across Aotearoa.

The Church’s NZ footprint

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Trust Board was a registered charity to provide religious services across dozens of sites scattered throughout New Zealand.

Charity register documents showed the Church made a surplus of $23.3 million in the year to 31 December last year, and owned $517.4m in property, plants and equipment and $10m in investment property.

StatsNZ census data showed more than 54,000 people identified as members of the church in 2023.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Iconic South Canterbury fruit company Barker Fruit Processors’ $60 million factory expansion will come to fruition later this year, in efforts to “future-proof” the growing business.

The company owned by the Andros Group in France was expanding its Pleasant Valley factory near Geraldine, adding new warehouses and another production line for products like its chutneys, jams, and sauces.

With the new build nearing completion, production was expected to begin there shortly before Christmas.

Operations manager, Bill Pridham said the expansion would help double production there over the next few decades.

“The main point for us is around ensuring that Barker’s is set up and ready for the future in South Canterbury, and to provide security to our current staff,” he said.

“There’ll be a few new job opportunities as well, which is great.”

Pridham said the factory produced hundreds of different products each year mostly for the domestic market, but exports largely to Australia made up about 20 percent of the business.

It employed up to 280 staff during the summer peak across the factory and sales and marketing from Auckland.

Consenting issues in Geraldine

The company held various active resource consents for discharging contaminants onto land and to air, but the Canterbury Regional Council recently investigated the company for wastewater discharge breaches.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) raised environmental concerns about the factory’s discharge onto a nearby conservation reserve near the Hae Hae Te Moana River.

The company spent $1.4 million on a 14-hectare site next door to the factory, according to the Overseas Investment Office.

Pridham said this purchase was about future-proofing its irrigation and wastewater systems.

“Historically, we’ve irrigated onto a block south of the factory, DoC land where historically it was something that had low conservational value that has recently changed, so we’ve looked for an alternative there. So that’s why we’ve looking at this other bit of land,” Pridham said.

He said it was planning to micro-irrigate to match the soil’s ability to absorb and treat the water, a system which would “help future-proof the business as we grow.”

“We’re looking at changing our irrigation system there, allowing us to irrigate all-year round, where historically we’d irrigate only in the drier months.

“We are working through that consent for the wastewater discharge with ECan, and providing them the information they need to give them assurance of our process and how we’re planning to approach it.”

Environment Canterbury’s consents planning manager, Henry Winchester said a new consent application for discharge was on “hold”, while more information was sought from the applicant.

“The new application from Barkers is to discharge factory wastewater to a new area of land which is partly forestry and partly pasture,” Winchester said.

“Barkers isn’t proposing to increase the amount of wastewater generated and we’re following the consent process in the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to ensure that effects are appropriately managed.

“We continue to work with Barkers to ensure that the regulatory process is being followed.”

Winchester said its audit continued.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Steve Evans is a man who just loves old wood and just can’t bear the thought of seeing it end up in landfill or being chucked on a fire.

Much of the stock he sells at Ironbark Re-engineered in North Canterbury came from the Lyttelton wharves which were removed after being damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes. 

He’s not buying any more though, as he says he has enough to last a lifetime -  or two.

“I need another lifetime to get through everything that I’ve got here. And I think that worries my son who’s thinks he’s gonna have to move in here and deal to it.”

Evans has had quite an adventurous life – baking pies, professional hunter and fisherman, jumping out of helicopters for deer recovery, running a helicopter business, working in forestry and firewood, which led to discovering ironbark.

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So what is ironbark? 

“It’s actually an Australian hardwood,” Evans explained. “Most people don’t really know what it is, but it’s one of the Eucalyptus species. Most people know what jarrah is and ironbark is like it but actually a lot harder than what Jarrah is.”

Ironbark is exceptionally strong, making it suitable for high traffic areas and structures like bridges and wharves.  It ranges from reddish-brown to dark brown and is highly resistant to moisture, insects and decay. The thick bark also protects the trees from fire.

Ironbark is still being imported from Australia and being used for wharves and cladding, flooring, decking, internal beams and rafters.

However, it doesn’t have the aged look of Evans’ wood, which ends up as internal beams and rafters in new holiday homes and is a particular rustic look that suits wineries and more high end stuff. 

So when the tourists arrive, the buildings look like they’ve been there for 100 years even though they may have been there for two.

The Oxford property is on part of a former railway line and is guarded by Evans’ little rough coated Jack Russell, Sue.

“It’s two and a half acres and very long and narrow. It’s part of the old railway corridor and the trains used to come through  Oxford to the sawmills in the foothills. There was a station up the end of this property.”

Evans mills his wood with a New Zealand classic circular saw. The Mahoe super mill is a friction mill which runs up and down on a big beam and is controlled by a friction lever. These mills are renowned for their safety and accuracy.

“The Mahoe saw is built in the North Island – a couple of brothers, the Bergmans, have been building them for years. It’s a marvellous piece of gear and Mahoe is where they’re built.” 

Evans said ironbark was a commodity that’s becoming scarcer by the day, as wharves all over New Zealand and rail bridges get pulled down.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fancy a drop of “kiwi-friendly” wine or a bite of a “kiwi-friendly” kiwifruit?

Branding fruit as “kiwi-friendly” could be a future marketing tool for producers after a study showed the North Island brown kiwi foraging for bugs in Northland vineyards and orchards, scientists say.

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The study is a collaboration between Massey University and the Bioeconomy Science Institute (BSI).

The brown kiwi increasingly observed in orchards and vineyards and New Zealand’s goal of a predator free environment by 2050 prompted the research, according to BSI scientist Karen Mason.

“With Predator Free 2050, more of our taonga species will be moving into horticultural settings, so we wanted to look at, is that happening? And if it is happening, what are they doing? And are they providing any ecosystem services that will benefit the growers?”

Masters student Wei (Xosha) Gong spent a year conducting field work on four sites in Northland, using camera and acoustic recorders, insect traps and faecal analysis to build a picture of kiwi behaviour, diet and predator presence.

From some 14,000 videos and 1000 audio recordings, and analysis of the bird’s poo, the team were able to gain new insights into the kiwi’s behaviour and diet in horticultural landscapes.

“We did get footage of them actually eating in the orchards, both probing into the ground and taking insects from just above the ground in the ground cover,” Mason told Country Life.

Further research has shown the kiwi, with its long probing beak, were eating a variety of invertebrates including horticultural pests.

“They are consuming some very interesting ones, and where I think they can be really beneficial.

“We found that they were consuming a variety of different cicadas, the whitefringed weevil and grass grub, and all of those species spend time underground.”

Apart from marketing their fruit as “kiwi-friendly”, growers might also be able to reduce pesticide use if more kiwi were encouraged into orchards, Mason said.

“If an insect is subterranean … it’s quite difficult to control because they’re difficult to monitor, they’re difficult to locate.

“If you put sprays and chemicals down, the soil can bind some of those chemicals so it doesn’t reach the insects and a couple of these insects also have a hard casing on them, so again, that makes it harder for the chemicals to reach them.

“Also, you don’t want to broadcast a whole tonne of spray onto your soil and kill all your beneficial insects, like your worms. So I think that’s where kiwi could be very interesting and very beneficial, because they are eating these when they are subterranean, when they’re underground.”

She said one pastoral farmer no longer needed to spray or to put granules down for his grass grub now that he has a high density of kiwi nearby.

Farmers and growers could encourage more kiwi onto their land by enhancing the orchard habitat and better predator control, according to Massey’s Professor in wildlife biology Isabel Castro.

She said the brown kiwi, now numbering around 26,000, lived in a variety of settings.

“They can go into grassy areas, they absolutely love swamps, they also, of course, go into forests, but not only mature forests, but also they use scrub, and they use even very, very low vegetation, so they have no problems going into orchard areas.

“In saying that, most of the kiwi that we have observed, especially in vineyards, are close to small areas, at least, of vegetation. So if, for example, farmers will have a vineyard area and then that area is surrounded by a hedge of other vegetation, the kiwi will love that better than having a completely open area.”

Mason and Castro are excited about the prospect of farmers harnessing the habits of other birds like pīwakawaka which could eat insects in the canopy or tui whose feisty nature might scare off kākā from feasting on the orchard’s fruit.

But more research is needed.

“More different sorts of birds are going to start coming into our horticultural systems. We need to understand, how do we make them attractive? How do we keep the birds safe, and how do we keep the birds out?” Mason said.

– Video reproduced with permission

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Coubroughs know their decisions today will determine the years to come.

Brett, whose grandparents originally bought the 76-hectare dairy farm near Tirau in 1907, runs the property with his two children Tim and Linda.

Succession has been relatively straightforward for the family.

“We’re all on the same page – we want robotics to milk the cows for us,” Linda told Country Life. “And that’s always been the plan.”

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Linda said it was an “honour” coming back to the multi-generational farm, despite not initially planning to come back as a farmer, and she hopes they’re leaving it in a better way for the next generation.

“Everything you do for the land is such a longterm goal,” she said.

“Our input now is changing what’s going to happen down the line which is a whole different way of thinking. And all our different backgrounds help bring up different things and what we want from that.”

Dad Brett always planned on being a farmer but “got sidetracked” with electrical engineering, a qualification which saw him travel all around the world for various projects. It’s come in handy back on the farm too where he is chief innovator and inventor.

He said it was nice to be farming.

“It’s a different style of life.Whereas I had to deal with customers or clients and now my clients are the cows and they’re much easier to deal with.”

Like Linda, it’s also taught him the value of taking a longer view.

“We come to the conclusion that you’re actually planning for over a year ahead all the time. It’s something I’ve never really thought about.

“You’re setting yourself up for the season ahead by what you’re doing now.”

One of the ways the family has tried to prepare for their future is investing in wearable technology and automation on-farm.

“Dad’s an extraordinaire in creating things and adjusting things and automating as much as we can,” Linda said.

“Our shed, it’s push a button and it does everything.”

Automation in the cowshed includes automated drafting gates, cup removers, systems cleaning, and calf feeders.

“It’s set up now for a one person operation – we still milk with two people – but it can be done,” Brett said.

Eight years ago they also invested in AllFlex’s cow collars to help with heat cycling

“We’re quite unique in that we’re one of the few smaller herds that has cow collars on.”

The data they get from the cow collars has helped improve animal welfare and each year the technology gets better.

Some things the father and daughter still prefer to do the old-school way, like shifting stock themselves on foot or in the side-by-side.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The overseas investment offer to rescue red meat processor Alliance Group has gotten even sweeter.

Irish company Dawn Meats has increased its proposed investment from $250 million to $270m, following stronger-than-expected year-end results from Alliance.

Dawn Meats’ proposed 65 percent stake in Alliance remained unchanged despite the higher investment.

Alliance chair Mark Wynne said as part of negotiations in July, the co-op had to commit to a year-end profit and net debt target.

The co-op’s unaudited profit projection of $18m to $24m was above target prompting the extra cash, which would be distributed through a dividend.

“So we both agreed on $250 million for 65 percent, but agreed a mechanism that said if there’s a variance in favour of Alliance, Dawn will top up.

“And if there’s a variance in favour of Dawn, in other words, we underperform on our target, then Alliance will top up Dawn.”

Over the last two weeks Alliance representatives had travelled the country talking with shareholders about the proposal.

‘Please vote’

Wynne said there had been some honest and tough conversations.

“[I’m] still pretty nervous.

“We’ve got four and a bit days so we have a special general meeting in Invercargill on Monday, on the 20th and the meeting will open at 11am, voting will close 11:45.

“And then Elections NZ and KPMG will go away and count and verify, and announce the result the following day.

“So our key message to everyone is please consider the proposal and the alternative that you see fit, vote accordingly, but the main thing is please vote.”

He said they’d been upfront about Alliance’s finances, with $188m in debt due by 19 December.

Wynne said after exploring all options over the past two years, only Dawn Meats met the scale and timing needed.

Shareholders were making a decision Wynne called a once-in-a-generation choice for farmers.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wattie’s New Zealand is further reducing fruit and vegetable crops it sources from its home of Hawke’s Bay, citing an ongoing struggle against cheaper imports.

Growers of key crops beetroot, corn and tomatoes will be affected by its recent crop intake review.

Just last month, it announced it would reduce production of its canned peaches.

A spokesperson for the brand, owned by food giant Kraft-Heinz of the United States, said it carried out these reviews each year to respond to market demand, increased competition from imported goods and rising input costs.

“In recent years, Wattie’s has seen a reduction in demand for home-grown canned fruit products and has not been able to recover to the levels it saw prior to the cyclone,” she said.

“Our desire, of course, is for Kiwis to return to the Wattie’s locally grown favourites, but until such time as we see an increase in demand, we are forced to adjust our intake, which has impacted crops such as peaches, beetroot, tomatoes and corn.”

She said it contacted affected growers directly, many of them had been partners for years.

“We recognise this is a difficult time for them and their businesses and are committed to helping them through this transition phase.”

• Are you affected by the change? Let us know monique.steele@rnz.co.nz

The decision to reduce peach production garnered upset among New Zealand consumers online.

However, the company had already warned the government that alleged dumping of cheaper imports from countries like China into the New Zealand market would affect local production.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment confirmed it was investigating these claims after Heinz Wattie’s filed an application in July into alleged product dumping.

“MBIE is currently progressing step 1 of the [trade remedy] investigation in accordance with its standard process, with input from participating stakeholders,” it said.

It was working to compile preliminary findings, essential facts and conclusions report for the applicant by 7 November.

And the findings would be presented to the Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs for decision, by 31 January.

“MBIE is also considering a request from [Heinz Watties] for provisional measures during the course of the investigation, in line with statutory provisions.”

It followed an earlier investigation several years prior.

Anti-dumping duties on preserved peaches from China were lifted in 2017.

Newsroom reported that Stats NZ data included in the Heinz application showed Chinese peach import volumes increased from 300,000 kilograms a quarter in 2018, to a peak of just below 831,000 kilograms in the final quarter of 2024.

Read more:

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

On a state-owned farm near Taupō, the first creamy-coloured calves of a new dairy-beef crossbreed are frolicking.

Called the Synergizer, the calves are the result of combining genetics from a Nebraskan breed developed in the 1970s, known as the Stabilizer, with that of the French Charolais from which the calves take their distinctive colouring.

It’s been a collaborative project between Pāmu, formerly Landcorp, and the farmer-owned co-operative Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) to develop a dairy-beef product that will benefit dairy farmers, calf rearers, beef finishers and processors

LIC chief executive David Chin said it was an exciting partnership with the genetics providing a long term gain and a “better animal all round”.

The breeding programme focussed on key traits including short gestation, ease of calving and rearing, strong growth and meat quality.

“What the diary farmer really looks for in beef animals, or beef bulls putting over their dairy cows, is an easily identifiable animal so the coat colour is very important,” Chin said.

“The coat colour is coming through from the Charolais. But calving easy, easy to rear, good live weight gains that’s coming through from the Stabilizer.”

Chin said the launch of Synergizer marked an important milestone in the co-operative’s dairy-beef journey.

“Backed by world-class science, robust data and rigourous progeny testing, Synergizer has been developed to deliver a reliable, profitable and sustainable option for dairy-beef systems.”

A recent Rabobank report found dairy-beef had a potential value of more than $1.2 billion each year.

Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie said Synergizer was also excited about the potential of the collaborative project.

“By combining genetics expertise, farming knowledge, and a shared vision, we’re creating a solution that will deliver long-term benefits across the entire dairy-beef value chain and build resilience, productivity and sustainability for future generations of farmers.”

About 350 first-cross beef on dairy calves were born this year.

The first frozen semen inseminations will be available in limited quantities from spring next year, with more available from spring 2027.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand